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September 13, 2012
Something Bigger…

(This article was sent out in last Thursday’s newsletter. To get my blogs the momement they happen, subscribe to my newsletter on the top right of this page!)

I just read a really interesting article by Mastin Kipp of The Daily Love titled “Time for a 2012 check in – How are you doing with those dreams?”   It’s so true for me right now and maybe for you too.

He reminds me that, and I quote “THIS AIN’T NO DRESS REHEARSAL!”, and he’s right.

September always feels like a new school year to me, no matter how many years it’s been since I graduated college.   New York is getting back to business from the summer, so It’s the perfect time to get back to you. Get back into your goals and nurturing your dreams.

Mastin says “Your dreams, your goals – the things your heart desires – all these things are PRESENT MOMENT DESIRES! If you aren’t taking action towards them DAILY – then you aren’t going to make them happen.”

I guess that’s kind of a wakeup call, taking daily right actions towards our deepest most ingrained dreams in order to make progress. We forget that there are seven days in the week – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Someday is not one of them.

And these days are packed full of stuff to do! But we must not let them get away.  It all begins with daily right actions.

A big theme for me this month is Fashion Week and Fashion’s Night Out.  All of the work we do as designers culminates into that one show, the one night of the year when everyone comes out of the woodwork to make something big happen.  In this case, to help the global economy and donate to charities, good causes and independent designers.

It is one of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever felt, standing stage Left peering through the curtains at my runway show about to come alive.  That was years ago, and I am consumed every day to make that happen again. I love this quote “Never give up on something you can’t go a day without thinking about.”  Now, not that I ever gave up, or ever would – but sometimes the bigger picture gets away from you.  It’s in remembering that one daily right action adds up to 365 steps a year that you are taking to feed your soul’s purpose.

Just start somewhere. Test it. No task is too big when approached from a mindset like this, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step.” Lau Tzu

Be easy on yourself and acknowledge the steps you have taken.  Recognize the effort and the mindshare you have put forth to get to the part right before you even take the first step.  Also acknowledge WHY you have NOT taken any steps yet, what fears or emotions are you holding on to about starting this? Work on that then.  The marathon runner first had to be emotionally committed to going for that morning run, time and time again – before they even put their sneakers on.

If you feel that there is something bigger that you are meant to do with your life, break it out into manageable steps and do it.

Jump right in.

The biggest victories I’ve ever had in my life were things I knew I had to do in my gut, and I didn’t even think too much about them because I knew if I analyzed it and waited – I probably would never have done it.

These are things for me like deciding to go to college at FIT, deciding to study abroad, deciding to go to London by myself, running for Miss New York, twice, and starting my first business – my fashion line.  Sometimes the time is just right for you to jump in, and if you listen – your gut will always tell you what to do. That’s why you have it.

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo

Emily

September 6, 2012
Transformation

I think we all have times in our lives when we grow through a somewhat painful yet liberating transition, like being aware that we can now actually push through. I feel like I am going through something like that right now.

There are times in life when we plow through, productively and produce great work – and then there are times, a day or even a minute when we feel as though we are running in ssssssllllloooooowwwwww motion through a fog or some goopy green gel (get the visual here, make sure you say “slow” like they do in movies in slow motion, k!) Anyway, those are the times when we must face our fears, or face the music and let the emotions come out.  Not plow through like we may do any other day, but take the time, (an hour, a day, a weekend) to cocoon, to rest, to cry and let our wing’s molecules reorganize.  For if we don’t, we will never transition from caterpillar to butterfly.

I want to read you something from Deepak Chopra’s The Book of Secrets. I read this a while ago and it totally stuck with me.

Deepak talks about the concept of one reality. In page 22 and 23 of his book he goes on to astonish that:

“We are all familiar with this metamorphosis (that of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly), having witnessed it as children… But what goes on invisibly inside the chrysalis remains deeply mysterious. The caterpillar’s organs and tissues dissolve into an amorphous, souplike state, only to reconstitute into a structure of a butterfly’s body that bears no resemblance to the caterpillar at all.”  …

“Two hormones, one called juvenile hormone, the other ecdysone, regulate the process, which look to the naked eye like a caterpillar dissolving into soup. These two hormones make sure that the cells moving from larva to butterfly know where they are going and how the are to change.  Some cells are told to die; others digest themselves, while still others turn into eyes, antennae, and wings. This implies a fragile (and miraculous) rhythm that must remain in precise balance between creation and destruction.”

I think that is rather fitting in our own transformations.  Some old beliefs or habits are told to die, other emotions and feelings we must “digest” to understand our motives and to heal and grow; while other elements of our current state reorganize themselves into more effective energies, thoughts and actions – giving us wings that allow us to fly.

Listen to your body, and rest when you need rest, dig deeper when you feel something is blocking you and embrace the need to cocoon instead of denying your intuitive request to prepare for your wings.

Thanks to my mentors and soul sisters for guiding me on this path, especially Lory and Maureen!

I hope this inspires you,

Xoxo

Emily

August 30, 2012
Dress not for the job you have…

…but for the job you want – and act not for the life you have, but for the life you want. 

“The only person you are DESTINED to become, is the person you DECIDE to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ever go into the office, or walk on your way to work and see some gorgeous woman dressed to the nines – and compare yourself to them? You see some other person with the dream job, the dream life and you think to yourself – “How am I ever going to get there.” I know I do, we all compare and judge others and ourselves – but what about dressing for YOU and where you want to go in life. Maybe you have to step out of the expected and the politically correct and be the real you.

So many times we have this instinctive, authentic desire to dress a certain way that really speaks to us but we may not do it for fear of being judged.

Sometimes there is a strong, instinctive way of “being” that we desire – like not eating meat for dinner a few times a week or deciding to stay in on a Saturday night and paint instead of go out and drink.  Maybe we don’t do it because the people we surround ourselves with habitually do it differently.  Maybe its time to listen to your gut. Work out, take that class, say no, go it alone, do what makes you feel good.

Listening to your gut with small things like this are what dreams are made of.  This may sound uber vague – but its true.  Here’s what I mean:

You are completely different from any one you’ve ever met. You have different dreams, a different purpose and different way of expressing yourself.  How far do you think the late Phillis Diller would have gotten if she never gave in to her true desire to be a comedienne at 40 years old, or if Cher decided her Vegas costumes were a bit too loud? What if Mastin Kipp from TheDailyLove.com decided there are enough self-love writers out there, what if I decided to stay at my corporate job at Gucci Groupe and climb the corporate ladder?

“All people really want is your truth, your truth is sexy” my mentor Gabrielle Bernstein always says.  Be your truth. Dress for where you want to go in life.  That can mean dressing in yoga clothes every day if your dream is to be a master Yoga instructor, or dress like Ivanka Trump if you want that VP position.  Or better yet, DRESS LIKE YOU. Express yourself.  The world has many “thems” but only ONE you.

What do you want to say, and what can you do to live that life; to dress that part, talk that talk, learn that skill, take that action, daily and every chance you have.

It takes a path of aligned tiny “right” choices every moment to get to where you want to get.

And with that, I’ll repeat this quote, a quote by my grandfather’s favorite author:

“The only person you are DESTINED to become, is the person you DECIDE to be.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo
Emily

 

August 23, 2012
Push Through!

So you remember when you first learned how to ride a bike,

I do because it was last weekend… Yeah, no joke!

Don’t make fun, I’ll tell you how it happened:
When I was a little girl I was being taught how to ride a bike, by my –
lets just say “evil ex-step father”. It was a rather traumatizing
experience that taught me severe lack of trust in another human being
and major fear. He was a scary person, and mentally abusive – at least
in my opinion. That day, I decided, err REFUSED to try to ride a bike
again. Ever, again. I came up with a really clever defense mechanism:
A fashionista neverrrrrr rides a bike. Oh how passé!! I’m not a sporty
girl any way!

Now, as an adult I realize that this taught me to be afraid of pushing
through.

Pushing through when things get tough, and giving into my defense
mechanism again of creating a stubborn excuse as to why I did not want
to be “seen” doing such an un cool thing.

So fast forward to this summer, my boyfriend wanted to go bike riding.
He knew I “didn’t know how to ride a bike.” But he thought by this I
meant – “am a little rusty”, but could for sure ride a bike because
after all – who over the age of 12 can’t? Um, yeah – I couldn’t.

We rented bikes last weekend, I was so excited because I knew I was
finally ready to push through.

I completely trusted my (amazing) boyfriend and I let him guide me.
This is a hard fete for me since I am a super control freak. Probably
because for most of my life I felt like I had no control what so ever.
I would fight to have control, and I even tried to control my own
disappointment by shutting down shop before I get disappointed. Major
road block. This keeps me playing small and I am so over that.

He was super supportive and super calm. He knew I could do it, and I
knew I could do it. And, I DID – and I have the bruises to prove it!
(I still need to practice to get a whole city block though!!!)

The bruises I got from the pedals hitting my calves are all over the
back of my legs, but I’m wearing them with pride because I know I
pushed through it. I pushed through the sweat, the fear, the unbalanced
feeling and self talked my way in to finding my balance. I over came
my fear of someone watching me and judging me struggling to ride a
bike, and I pushed through it.

This applies in life as in business. Push through it. With my first
company RockHardAtelier.com there were some places I did not yet push
through. In past relationships and other opportunities I did not push
through. I was
protecting myself from the hurt of disappointment. Disappointment by
someone else, and disappointment by myself.

The big things in life come from pushing through this boundary of pain
and fear. As my spiritual guru Gabrielle Bernstein said in this week’s
lesson – “You have to stick around for the miracle”.

I did just that.

Pushing through this, and believing I could actually control a bicycle,
instead of fighting against it was a big deal for me. I feel like a
huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, spiritually, physically
and mentally. I now have the deep confidence to push through, and
really take some bigger risks. Life is an adventure after all right,
and damn those Olympic mountain bike riders really kick some A$$.

Something to aspire to!
So, now what do you need to push through today?

Hope that inspires you!
Xoxo
Emily

August 9, 2012
Love Life!

Simply love life.

This illustration is dedicated to my friend, who goes by Mona Love.
There is always alot going on in your day to day but in the over all big
picture, life is an adventure.

Treat it as such!!! We so often forget that this life is here for us to
live, to learn, to grow and to make human connections. Love is really
the blood that pumps through us all and the main reason we do anything.
Either for love or for fear. Love motivates us all to be better,
stronger, happier and more understanding people. We often get tunnel
vision and obsess over the topic at hand, the daily drama or the
unreachable goals in our life. But really love is an adventure. It is
the JOURNEY. Not the destination.
Your homework this week: How can you love more and treat life as the
adventure that it is instead of the next fire that needs to be put out?
Thanks Mona for inspiring me, I know she lives every day by this
mantra.

follow her here @monalovelife

xoxo
Hope that inspires you!
Emily

May 25, 2012
The Making of the ReveBoutique.com Tribe girls!

So I JUST CAN’T WAIT!!  This is one of my – lets say – “Dream” projects because it has been my goal for some time now, to get my illustrations on a fashion website’s front page.  And now – I have!!! Well – I’m spilling the beans a bit early – I will!  The illustrations will be on the site in a few weeks! I am in love with how these girls came out and I know Meital B (celebrity stylist and owner of ReveBoutique.com) is in love with them as well!

I remember it was almost a year ago this coming september that I went with Meital and a bunch of the girls to see Izak Zenou signing autographs, famed fashion Illustrator of Henri Bendel’s at the Henri Bendel store!

There’s me, posing with Izaks incredible illustrations, dreaming of the day when I would be doing illustrations for big fashion companies too!

Here’s Izak signing autographs on his Illustrations!!

Here is some of Izak’s work being showcased! One day I will have a show like this!

So fast forward to a few months ago, I had told Meital I was now doing fashion illustrations and we decided that it would be great for Reve! She had wanted me to feature her top selling line, Savee Couture for the front cover and focus on spring. So choosing from her amazing fashions and gorgeous palettes I decided on the girls, and what they would wear. This was such a fun project for me, because as a fashion designer I live, breathe and eat this stuff!

Check out how my sketches came into reality!!

And now for the coloring! I use translucent marker paper over my pencil sketches and start markering!

And here is the finished products!!!

Hope that inspires you to identify what you love, and DO IT!!!
xoxo
Emily
EmilyBrickel.com
Emily@EmilyBrickel.com

April 30, 2012
Confetti System


Ok so I am completely OBSESSED.

Ever heard the expression or desire of someone to “Swim in a pool of …”? (Fill in the blank depending on something you love). I have heard of people wanting to swim in a pool of jello, or some other food that said person loved. Me however, that sounds kind of sticky.
I’d much rather swim in a pool of skittles or say, more excitingly: glitter. Yes, glitter. For those of you who know me, you may be aware that I am mesmerized by all things sparkly. Arts-and-crafts glitter, confetti, disco balls, glitter nail polish, diamonds, jewelry, chandeliers and other sparkly objects. I make no discrimination.

Lets just say sparkles are my catnip.

Ergo my case in point. Confetti system.
They have made it cool again (as an adult) to gem up your world of normalcy and throw a modern and artistic take on confetti and tissue paper all over your space.

Check out these images from their website www.Confettisystem.com, of which I had a hard time editing since each image was more mesmerizing then the next.

The art of creativity and imagination is at play here, in displays and set designs for fashion companies like Lanvin, Opening Ceremony, JCrew, Urban Outfitters, Harper’s Bazaar, Daily Candy and events for the American Ballet Company, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beyonce and the likes.



The sheer fun that these displays evoke is huge. The larger than life persona of each of these works, as if they had a soul brings a party back to the energy around you and encourages you to never think an idea is too small to be a business.





Confetti System is totally worth mentioning as they are so inspiring and a pioneer in the world of Oohs and Ahs.
I hope this inspires YOU!
xoxo
Emily

April 10, 2012
Blog, my love!

Oh blog, my love! How terribly sorry I am to have abandoned you for over a month! I have been missing you so.

I have been on the go, go, go!

Just to fill you in I have taken up a 6 day a week Brazilian work out, have had tons of projects, and then had the beautiful luxury of enjoying a lavish (entrepreneurs = constantly working) 4 day, 3 night vacation in the uber chic historical miami hotel The Fontainebleau, of which I learned a few days prior to my stay – that my great Uncle was part owner in.

Everyone needs a vacation, and I unapologetically had taken one.  It was my boyfriend and I who enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing and exciting trip. We met up with my glamorous Miami publicist friend, who just so happened to be having her bachelorette party that weekend.  We were in Miami because my boyfriend had a client meeting with a Brazilian born business owner, and I had a date with a lounge chair and the sun!

The room and our view was spectacular! A balcony overlooking the great pools, the ocean and cabanas! A night time kiss from the stars and a romantic ruffle of the sheer curtains in the warm 78 degree night winds.  It was just what we needed!


We took a spa retreat when the sun stepped away for a bit.  I enjoyed a chakra crystal massage that promised to rejuvenate my mind, body and soul, oh and did it deliver. Jordan enjoyed a deep tissue massage.

Heaven on earth!

The only thing I loved more than our sun soaked days was my midriff revealing Miami statement outfit that I had been meticulously planning for a few weeks prior.

A black sheer lace top, a right-on-trend bright floral print high waisted skirt, gold cuff bracelet and a few special details. I was channeling Ava Gardner, Eva Mendez and Sophia Lauren’s spicy seductress style.

 

Lace camisole, my own. Skirt, H&M. Shoes, Sergio Rossi. Bag, Chanel. Cuff, Bloomingdales.

Miami and the bright colors, vibrant people and crazy / cool lifestyle has inspired me and stayed in my mind since we left.

Just wanted to bring a little sunshine to you!
Hope that inspires you!
xoxo
Emily

December 29, 2011
The glitter of Vegas – Getting inspired for New Years!

So inspired by Sean Paul’s new music video – Got 2 Luv U featuring Alexis Jordan!!!

I’m getting all hyped up about all the glitter and glam that goes into New Years Eve and this video is such great inspiration for NYE parties and dressing.

Check out this vid and it will get you pumped when you get ready on New Years Eve.

I mean check out those gold lips on the bathroom wall, and Alexis’ pheasant feathered frock. Or her sequined numbers.

This music video is making me miss vegas so much! Haze in the Aria and Vanity in the Hard Rock are two of my favorite hotspots, mind you I have not been there since this time last year right before the Cosmo opened, and I hear from my sources that Marquee is amazing. Can’t wait to go back!!!

As a designer, I am always so inspired by music and music videos, the color, camera shots and wardrobe are making me drool in this song!

I hope this inspires you as much as it inspires me to add some glam back into your wardrobe, take a few fashion risks and live this next year with GUSTO – hey, the Mayan Calendar may be right, the world may end (still not 100% sold on this though) and how terrible would it be if we as a society and as individuals failed to live this year, and each day as if it was the end of the world!

Ok, I’ll stop dancing… Running to my closet to prep my NYE glittery and glam look! Can’t wait to ring in the New Year 2012, I have a feeling its going to be GLAM- Tastic!

xoxo

Emily

Check out these inspiring stills from the video for beauty and fashion inspiration for 2012:

December 14, 2011
The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor

Last week I had the tremendous, glamorous, every-girls-dream experience of coming nose to nose with some of Ms. Taylor’s most exquisite gems of all time.  With three generations of women who grew up on her style, my Grandmother, my Mother and myself set out to be in awe of her most lust-worthy collection.  The gems were breathtaking and so is her legacy.

“This is one of the greatest collections in the world. Its the auction of Elizabeth Taylor…the most legendary and romantic jewels.”

“There is romance behind each piece because it was given to her by Richard Burton, Mike Todd. There was so much pleasure in the way she received the jewels and so much emotion in each and every piece.”

“Jewelry was a way of life for her. Richard Burton would go to the store with her and spend the entire afternoon a Bulgari in Rome when they were filming Cleopatra…. Richard Burton used to wait to see the emotion in her eyes because then he would know if she really liked the jewelry.”

“Elizabeth Taylor was a global Icon… She’s unforgettable because its a big life for a star.  She just was, In Burton’s words, just breathtakingly beautiful. She’s famous for being herself, larger than life. More beautiful than anyone, more scandals, more fun, … more guts, more, more, more, more. More is more, she said. She’s right.”

All quotes from “The Making of An Auction” Behind the scenes at Christie’s New York.

Some Quotes from the Iconic Ms. Taylor

“I’m ruled by my Passions.” – On life.

“I will not be silenced, I will not give up and I will not be ignored!” – On her AIDS foundation.

“I hope with all my heart that in some way I have made a difference in the lives of people with AIDS, I want that to be my legacy.” On her life’s work

The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS foundation has raised millions for the cause and the Auction at Christie’s will bring that number even higher with over $150 million dollars of acquisitions.

The guts, passion, and many love affairs (with men and diamonds) that Elizabeth has lived in her 79 years of age will transcend generations for the tests of time.

Hope that Inspires you!
Emily

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